Derelict: Halcyone Space, Book 1 (29 page)

But Jem wasn't dying. He couldn't be. He was just a kid.

"Do you need help with your pants?"

"No, but I can't stand."

Micah brought over a beaker. "Okay, you can use this." He guided Jem's hand to the empty vessel. "I'm turning away so you can have some privacy. Just call me if you need anything."

"Thank you."

The familiar, pungent odor of urine brought back his mother's sick room: Vials and tubes of medication lined up in neat rows. The beeping monitors. The intrusive needles.

"Micah?"

"I'm here."

"Can you take the beaker? I'm sorry. I think I spilled."

"'No problem, kiddo. I got it covered."

He pulled on gloves from his father's plundered supplies and cleaned up the small puddle on the floor. Jem's urine was dark and cloudy, further signs of dehydration. He'd have to let Barre know. "Do you think you can drink some more?"

But Jem had fallen back asleep, his breathing slow and regular.

His micro vibrated as he tucked the used row cover, the half-full beaker, and his gloves on the far side of the bridge for disposal.

These are serious charges. We will require proof before proceeding.

Between the forged seals and Jem's recording, he could give Targill all the proof he wanted. Let's see his father politic his way out of this one.

Proof in return for immunity, a place at uni, and full-adult status.

Ro would have to make her own arrangements. The senator was the bigger fish here, the one he could dangle in front of Targill and get the biggest concessions. For now, he had done everything he could for Jem and for his mother's memory.

They walked back to the bridge in silence, Ro simmering in anger over her father.
Barre hadn't said a single word since she showed him the weapons cache.

"I didn't know what was inside. I swear it." But even after she found out, even after she understood that her father had manipulated her all along, she still kept working on the ship. She hated how he twisted her around so easily.

"Anything?" she asked Micah, as the door slid open.

"Nothing from Hephaestus," he said, before turning to Barre. "Jem was awake. I gave him some water. Helped him pee."

"Thank you," Barre said, hurrying over to his brother.

Micah looked away.

"So now you know. Does it change anything?" Ro asked.

"No. Not for us." Barre sat next to Jem and squeezed his hand. "Do what you have to do about your father. I don't care as long as my brother gets help."

Ro stared at the floor, letting her hair cover her face.

"Halcyone, this is Hephaestus. We are in ansible range and holding our current position. Do you copy?"

It took Ro a few precious seconds to realize what they meant. She gripped the edges of the nearest console searching for even the slightest vibration that might mean the ship was preparing to flee again.

Barre met her gaze. She tapped her index finger against her forehead. He looked off into the distance, listening to the AI's internal music.

"Nothing. Quiet," Barre said.

Ro exhaled heavily. "Hephaestus, this is Halcyone. We continue to be adrift, but life-support and critical systems are stable. We require immediate medical assist for one crew member with suspected head trauma." It was probably a stretch to call themselves crew, but they had become one over the past few days. 'Stowaways' didn't really fit. Neither did 'passengers'. "Advise you hold position. The AI has reacted unpredictably to the presence of another ship."

The three of them waited. Even within a single ansible's range, there would be a certain amount of latency. Just how much would give Ro some idea of how far apart the ships were.

"We noticed. Are your air locks functioning?"

"Hephaestus, stand by, please." Ro grabbed her micro and scanned through the systems reports. Nothing mentioned external damage, but that relied on the sensors reporting accurately. "Micah, can you take a look at the main airlock?"

"We're towing a big section of the temporary corridor, but we didn't see any sign of damage when we looked earlier."

"Hephaestus, you'll have to hack away some of the station we're pulling, but it appears intact."

The pauses between messages had shortened. She hoped they knew what they were doing.

"Stand by, Halcyone. We have a medic on the way."

"You should have them look at your ankle, Ro," Barre said.

"Not a priority."

He fell silent again, glancing at his brother. "What are you going to tell them about the weapons?"

What was she going to tell them? She picked at a piece of ragged cuticle on her thumb with her index finger. "I haven't figured that out yet."

"I have."

Ro and Barre turned to Micah. He stood in front of the main view screen staring at them.

"I made a trade. My father and the weapons for my freedom."

Heat traveled from Ro's stomach, up through her throat and face. Clenching her fists, she lurched toward him. "You what?"

Barre stepped in front of her and held her by her shoulders as she struggled. "Wait. Listen to what he has to say."

"Why the fuck are you taking his side?"

"Because what's in our hold is illegal as hell and we're the ones sitting on it. Are you that stupid? We have the weapons. We stole a ship. Do you have any idea what this looks like?"

Ro stopped trying to push aside a solid wall of Barre and let out a pent up breath in a large sigh.

"Are we good?" Barre asked.

"Fine," she snapped, looking past him at Micah. He hadn't moved.

"I'm sorry. I didn't have any choice. Once they find that shit here, they'll search every micron of this ship and no matter how well I cleaned up, they'll find evidence of the bittergreen."

"The hell you didn't have a choice!" Ro crossed her arms and turned her back to Micah, afraid of what she might do if she had to keep looking at him. "Like father, like son, Rotherwood."

I'm not anything like my father," he said, in a low, dangerous growl. "I thought you would understand."

The door to the bridge opened and closed. Ro turned to the empty space where Micah had been standing. "Fuck."

"Let him go."

"Halcyone, this is skimmer alpha-niner. We can see your airlock. Attempting to dock."

Pulling herself up to her full height, Ro decided she would damned well act the part of Captain, at least until they came to arrest her. "Skimmer alpha-niner, we are standing by."

"So really, how screwed are we?" Barre asked.

"We?" Ro laughed. "Not we. Me. You were technically a stowaway. I'm the one who stole the ship." And took the weapons. A deep clang reverberated through the ship. "Ah, our company's here. Shall we escort them to the bridge?"

Barre glanced at Jem, frowning.

"Never mind. Stay with him. I got this."

"Are you sure?"

Ro wasn't sure of much, except that Jem needed to get medical help. "Yeah." She made a futile effort to look less like she'd been in the same clothes for three days and more like the captain of a ship. Lifting her chin, she strode out to meet the skimmer crew.

At the airlock, she paused and took a deep breath. She got them all this far, she could take the next step. Peering through the porthole, she saw the shadow of the skimmer flush against the transport ship. She placed her hand against the door controls. At least Jem would be okay. A deep thunk reverberated through the corridor, a sound she could hear and feel as the crew on the other side of the lock mated their port to Halcyone's.

She studied the readout, keeping her eye on the cycling lights — green for a good seal, red for you're screwed. She looked up for the AI's pickup. "Barre?"

"What's up, Cap?"

It didn't bother her quite as much to hear him call her that now. "Keep your ears tuned for any signs that our friend is getting agitated, okay?"

"Will do. All quiet right now."

The airlock lights fixed on steady green. Ro let her breath out in a long, slow whistle. Relief mingled with a prickle of fear as the skimmer's port door unlocked. The hatch opened with excruciating slowness. Two survival-suited figures stood back to back in the tiny airlock proper. One held a supplies bag. Both were armed. A coil of dread curled around her stomach.

The seconds ticked by as the skimmer's door dialed shut and Halcyone checked the pressurization before starting to open the transport ship's side. Green lights flashed in the airlock and both of the crew members from Hephaestus flipped up their visors.

Alert bells rang through the corridor.

"Airlock door opening. Prepare for arrivals."

The two crew nodded, saying something to one another she couldn't hear. One of them looked up. Ro couldn't swallow the dry lump in her throat.

Her father stood in the airlock staring back at her. A loud clunk broke her paralysis and Ro slapped her hand on the airlock controls to abort. The hiss of air taunted her. She was too late.

He strode aboard Halcyone and stood, towering over her.

She shivered, looking down at his sidearm.

"Hello, Rosalen. I've been concerned about you."

Concerned about what she might have done with his cargo, was probably more accurate. She ignored him and turned to the medic. "We have an injured boy on the bridge. Follow me."

"And you need some care as well," the medic said, ignoring the tension he must have sensed between them.

"I'm stable. Jem is not." She pivoted on her heel and headed away from the airlock, her back tingling, imagining the potential of weapons trained on her.

"I'll need to examine everyone on board."

"Jem first," she insisted, as the bridge doors hissed open.

Barre stood and Ro envied the look of relief in his eyes.

"Over here," he said.

The medic picked his way across the detritus strewn about the bridge. As he knelt beside Jem, Barre leaned in and started throwing medical terms at him. A tightness pulled across her chest. Barre's face perfectly captured the expressions she'd seen in Jem's so often. Ro wondered why she'd never noticed that before.

Ro's father stood in front of the door, facing in. Did he think she planned to escape? He met her gaze and strode through the bridge as if he owned it. She stood her ground, refusing to look away.

"I found your toys. Nice trick with the seals. Your handiwork or the senator's?"

He raised his eyebrows. "You've changed since I saw you last."

"You haven't."

"Touché," he said, giving her a mock bow. "Good work, here, by the way."

"Don't think you can walk in here and steal my ship."

"Your ship?" He laughed and both Barre and the medic looked up at him, frowning. They lowered their voices to intense whispers. "What about my cargo?"

"I think you'll find the cargo already claimed," she said. Maybe Micah had done her a favor after all.

He gripped her arm with the force and bite of a vice. "Whatever you think you've done, you're dangerously mistaken."

Ro gripped his restraining arm with her free hand. "If you don't let go right now, I'm going to require the medic's help. Urgently."

Her father opened his hand and she tumbled away from him, rubbing her arm, hoping the bruising wouldn't be that bad this time.

The medic broke into their uncomfortable silence. "I'm going to transport this young man back to Hephaestus. Once I get him transferred to our sick bay, I'll come back for the two of you. You've done the best you could with him, given your resources. Your parents trained you well."

"Is he going to be okay?" Barre's voice cracked. Ro looked away from the pleading in his eyes.

"We'll do our best." He pulled a small, square packet from his bag. It unfolded into a backboard. "Maldonado, a little help here?"

"No," Barre said. The medic shot him a sharp look. "He's my brother."

Her father shrugged and stayed at Ro's side. She shifted a step away from him as Barre stabilized Jem's head and shoulders and helped roll him to the side so the medic could slip the board beneath him. With practiced efficiency, he got Jem secured in the strapping until he looked like an insect trussed in a spider's web.

The medic stood, flipped a switch on his belt pack, and the backboard rose to hover at his waist height. "Even with the gurney, I can take one more back with me. Do you want the honors?"

Barre stared helplessly at Jem and then back to Ro. She closed her eyes, steeling herself for being alone with her father.

"Take Jem first," Barre said. "I started this trip with Ro. I think I should end it with her."

She snapped her head around. What was he doing?

The medic shrugged. "I'll let you know when I'm on my way back. Both of you can take the next trip."

Barre watched the medic tow his brother out the door and into the hallway, his hands in tight fists. She owed him and the worst part was she didn't know why. He should have saved himself. It's what she would have done.

"Halcyone, this is Commander Targill of the Commonwealth Ship Hephaestus.
The skimmer will return shortly. All souls aboard will be transferred here immediately. If you are able, assist Chief Engineer Maldonado in preparing the vessel for towing."

Ro triggered her response, refusing to look at her father. "Commander Targill, request permission to stay aboard Halcyone until we return to Daedalus." The seductive call of a shower and a real meal would have to wait until she figured out what her father was up to.

"Request denied. You and the other children will be dropped off on Daedalus Station en route to a military repair depot."

Her father snickered and she glared at him. There were no children here, only her crew.

"You didn't think they'd let you keep it, did you?" her father asked.

"You son of a bitch. You set me up. This is my ship. It was nothing but a glorified storage hold before I got her to fly."

"Really?" His laughter filled the bridge. "And who do you think did all the work on the infrastructure? No, my dear Rosalen, this is my ship. It's always been mine. I just needed you for its final touches."